He was giving evidence to the congressional intelligence committee. The Trump administration said nothing had changed and there was "no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion". Russia has always denied attempting to influence the US presidential election.

WASHINGTON FBI Director James Comey on Monday confirmed the agency was investigating possible Russian government efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election including any links between President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow.

Comey told a congressional hearing on Russian activities that the probe "includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts."

"Because it is an open, ongoing investigation and is classified, I cannot say more about what we are doing and whose conduct we are examining," Comey said. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Republicans revamp U.S. health bill, boost benefits to older Americans WASHINGTON U.S. House Republicans are working on changes to their healthcare overhaul bill to provide more generous tax credits for older Americans and add a work requirement for the Medicaid program for the poor, House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Sunday.

Trump's net worth dwindled to $3.5 billion, Forbes says NEW YORK While Donald Trump's political fortunes were rising, his net worth was dropping to a mere $3.5 billion, or roughly a third of what he claimed during his successful campaign for the U.S. presidency, according to the latest Forbes list of the world's billionaires.

Tillerson signaled U.S. policy of patience on North Korea is over: White House WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "sent a very clear signal that our policy of strategic patience is over" with North Korea during his recent visit to China, a White House spokesman said on Monday.